Questions tagged [stable-homotopy-category]

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Definition of an E-infinity algebra

Can anyone give me a plain-and-simple definition of an E-infinity algebra without using the words "operad," "ring spectrum," or "stable homotopy"? Sorry, but I honestly couldn't find it using all on-...
Eric Zaslow's user avatar
  • 3,257
24 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why the sphere spectrum is more correct than $\mathbb{Z}$?

One may argue that $\mathbb{S}$ is more correct than $\mathbb{Z}$. Can anyone make it more explicitly? For example, what information will be lost if we work in $\mathbb{Z}$ instead of $\mathbb{S}$? ...
XT Chen's user avatar
  • 1,084
21 votes
4 answers
2k views

Multiplicative Structures on Moore Spectra

The motivation for this question is that I want "toy examples" of how to prove/disprove the existence of multiplicative structures on examples of spectra. The class of examples I am thinking of is the ...
Elden Elmanto's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is there an additive model of the stable homotopy category?

$\DeclareMathOperator\Ho{Ho}$Is there a model category $C$ on an additive category such that its homotopy category $\Ho(C)$ is the stable homotopy category of spectra and the additive structure on $\...
Don Stanley's user avatar
  • 1,315
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

Difficulties with the mod 2 Moore Spectrum

I have been informed that there is a reference out there which specifically details what goes wrong with the mod 2 Moore spectrum, i.e. why it is not $A_\infty$ or something? I do not know the details,...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
651 views

localizing subcategories of $HF_p$-local spectra

This entire question takes place in the $HF_p$-local category of $p$-local spectra, i.e. the essential image of $HF_p$-localization on the stable homotopy category. $HF_p$ itself is in there, and of ...
Luke Wolcott's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
921 views

Is there a constructive description of type in the p-local stable homotopy category?

The title pretty much sums it up - but let me give a little bit of background first. In the p-local stable homotopy category (basically one localizes away the torsion spectra which are not p-torsion) ...
Greg Stevenson's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
3k views

Do we still need models of spectra other than the $\infty$-category $\mathrm{Sp}$?

This question asked whether $\mathrm{Sp}$ is convenient in the sense of satisfying (in the $\infty$-categorical sense) a list of desired properties of Lewis in his 1991 paper (see there). The answer ...
13 votes
1 answer
2k views

Equivalent definitions of Thom spectra

Background and notations: Recall the classical contruction and definition of Thom spectra. To a spherical fibration $S^{n-1} \to \xi \to B$, we can associate the data of a Thom space $T_n(\xi)$, given ...
Mattia Coloma's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Connective spectra and infinite loop spaces

It seems to be standard that connective spectra are "the same" as infinite loop space. However, I do not understand the reason why the associated spectrum is connective. For me, an infinite loop ...
Matthias Ludewig's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
721 views

Do there exist "topologically significant" (and not "algebraic") triangulated categories killed by the multiplication by $p$?

I have a somewhat vague question: does there exist a prime $p$ and a triangulated category killed by the multiplication by $p$ that would be "interesting for topologists"? This category would probably ...
Mikhail Bondarko's user avatar
11 votes
0 answers
383 views

How does the HHR Norm functor interact with the cotensor over $G$-spaces?

Let $N_H^G$ be the norm functor from orthogonal $H$-spectra to orthogonal $G$-spectra. We know the category of orthogonal $G$-spectra $\mathcal{S}_G$ is enriched over the category of based $G$-spaces $...
Jack Davies's user avatar
11 votes
0 answers
633 views

Fields in Stable Homotopy Theory

It is known that the only "fields" in stable homotopy theory, after localizing at a prime $p$, are Eilenberg-Mac Lane spectra for fields and the Morava K-theories (this is true in a few senses: these ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
890 views

Morava $K(n)$'s are not $E_{\infty}$

I am looking for a reference/proof that shows that the Morava $K$-theory spectra, $K(n)$ are not $E_{\infty}$ ring spectra. I suspect that this should be a calculation but I can't quite get it right. ...
Elden Elmanto's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
934 views

Smashing localizations in the category of spectra

Let $E$ be a spectrum. Then $E$ determines an idempotent localization functor $L_E: \mathrm{Sp} \to \mathrm{Sp}$ sending each spectrum to its $E$-localization. The functor $L_E$ generally does not ...
Akhil Mathew's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
507 views

When is the Thom spectrum of a virtual vector bundle effective?

Remark: My question is valid in the classic setting of the stable homotopy category of spectra of CW-complexes. An answer on that setting will also be valid. Denote as $SH(X)$ Voevodsky's stable ...
Tintin's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
995 views

Why do we study complex orientable cohomology theories

It seems that much of the literature in stable homotopy theory seems to study complex orientable cohomology theories. What is the reason of restricting to this class of multiplicative cohomology ...
davik's user avatar
  • 2,035
8 votes
1 answer
478 views

Stabilization of $\infty$-categories versus SW stabilization

Spanier-Whitehead stabilization provides a way to extend a category $\bf E$ to a bigger one $\mathcal{SW}_\Omega(\bf E)$ where a given endofunctor $\Omega$ is invertible. The category $\mathcal{SW}_\...
fosco's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
344 views

Higher coherent multiplicative structures on S-algebras

In their book, Elmendorf, Kriz, May and Mandell describe a useful category of spectra, called S-modules, where S is the sphere spectrum. Ring objects in this category can be identified with spectra ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
488 views

Inverting objects in a symmetric monoidal category

In Voevodsky’s ICM address: https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/matnat/math/MAT9580/v18/documents/voevodsky-a1-homotopy-theory-icm-1998.pdf In theorem 4.3 it is claimed that given a symmetric monoidal ...
user374433's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
551 views

Is there an obvious reason why p-localization of spectra is a finite localization?

Is there an obvious reason why $p$-localization of spectra is a "finite" localization in the sense of Haynes Miller? In other words, is there an obvious reason why the localizing subcategory (of the ...
Victoria Flat's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
216 views

Bousfield's distributive lattice DL and non-ring spectra

Bousfield, in his paper "The Boolean algebra of spectra" (Comm Math Helv 54, 368–377 (1979), https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02566281), defined $\mathbf{DL}$, a sublattice of the Bousfield lattice,...
John Palmieri's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
404 views

Is $[X, \_]$ a homology theory?

Let $X$ be a CW-spectrum. It is well-known that $[\_ ,X]$ is a generalized cohomology theory and, by Brown's representability theorem, every generalized theory is $H$ represented by a spectrum (namely,...
Victor TC's user avatar
  • 795
7 votes
2 answers
516 views

Chromatic convergence of E(n)-localized homotopy categories

Given the Chromatic Convergence Theorem, can we state this globally as some convergence in the category of categories? That is, we have the subcategories of finite spectra in each stable homotopy ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
417 views

Model category structure on spectra

I have a concrete question for the algebraic category of spectra, but if there is an answer for its topological analogue I would be interested in it. Let $S$ be a finite dimensional Noetherian scheme ...
Tintin's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Intuition - difference between Moore spectrum and Eilenberg-Mac Lane spectrum

I know very little about algebraic topology, and more about $k$-linear stable $\infty$-categories (i.e. homological algebra). Given an abelian group $A$, there is the Eilenberg-Mac Lane spectrum $HA$,...
Sasha's user avatar
  • 5,492
7 votes
0 answers
268 views

Homotopy theory of differential objects

In Kashiwara and Schapira's wonderful book Categories and Sheaves, they define a category with translation to be a category $\mathsf{C}$ equipped with an auto-equivalence $S: \mathsf{C} \to \mathsf{C}$...
ಠ_ಠ's user avatar
  • 5,933
7 votes
0 answers
214 views

Self-equivalences of the stable homotopy category

I have recently started approaching Stable Homotopy Theory and came up with what is probably a rather naive question to ask, though it looks like I can not find references on it around. Let $\mathcal{...
Marco Vergura's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
436 views

Is there a list of examples of orthogonal spectra?

Schwede's symmetric spectra book project provides point-set models of many important spectra as symmetric spectra, including (in §I.1) the sphere spectrum, Eilenberg-Mac Lane spectra, several Thom ...
Arun Debray's user avatar
  • 6,766
6 votes
2 answers
525 views

Does a finite suspension spectrum make a space finite?

Suppose that $X$ is a space whose suspension spectrum $\Sigma_+^\infty(X)$ is dualizable in the stable homotopy category. I believe this is equivalent to saying that $\Sigma_+^\infty(X)$ is (weakly) ...
Mike Shulman's user avatar
  • 65.1k
6 votes
2 answers
518 views

Coreflective Subcategories of the Stable Homotopy Category

Here by stable homotopy category I mean the homotopy category of spectra, or maybe just some monogenic, Brown, algebraic, etc. stable homotopy category (in the language of Hovey, Palmieri and ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
251 views

Homotopy groups of $K(n)$-localization of the Brown-Peterson spectrum

We fix $p$ prime and $n$ a natural number. We let $K(n)$ be the $2(p^{n}-1)$-periodic Morava $K$-theory, i.e. $K(n)_*=\mathbb{F}_p[v_n^{\pm 1}]$ with $|v_n|=2(p^n-1)$. I distinctly recall that we ...
N.B.'s user avatar
  • 757
6 votes
2 answers
948 views

Smash product of spheres in $\mathbf{SH}$ and product in cohomology

I have two very concrete and simple question. Just in case I write downwards what led me into this. My questions: Let $\mathbf{SH}(X)$ be the stable homotopy category of Voevodsky. Denote $S^n$ the ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
6 votes
1 answer
444 views

Stable Adams operations

I have come across a paper by Adams, Harris and Switzer on the Hopf algebra of cooperations of real and complex K-theory. The Adams operations are stable in the $p$-local setting, however I have not ...
Avishkar Rajeshirke's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
381 views

When was the word "stable" first used to describe stable homotopy theory?

The word "stable" has many uses in mathematics, but in the context of stable homotopy theory, one might take it to mean one of two things: Homotopy groups stabilize after taking suspensions (...
Hiro Lee Tanaka's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
217 views

Compatible algebraic Spanier-Whitehead dual

Let me first ask an intuitive version of the question: Let $Sp$ be the homotopy category of spectra. Let $E$ be a ring spectrum. Let $$D:Sp \to Sp$$ be the Spanier-Whitehead dual functor (maybe we ...
Prasit's user avatar
  • 2,013
5 votes
1 answer
572 views

Is the stable homotopy category idempotent complete?

Is the stable homotopy category idempotent complete? I have not been able to prove it, and the proof for abelian groups seems to strongly rely on looking at elements. Thanks, Jon
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
122 views

Examples of comonoids (coalgebras) in the stable homotopy category $\mathbf{SH}$

My question is both for the topological and for the algebraic/motivic version of the stable homotopy category $\mathbf{SH}$. It is well known that most cohomologies are represented in $\mathbf{SH}$ by ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
5 votes
0 answers
144 views

Bousfield Lattices for which Minimal Objects Coproduct to Sphere Object

Is it known what conditions we require of a stable homotopy category to have $\langle S\rangle = \coprod\limits_{\mathbb{N}}\langle K(n)\rangle$, where $\langle K(n)\rangle$ is some minimal Bousfield ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
472 views

Does the (singular)cohomology of any acyclic spectrum vanish?

I am interested in those objects in the ("topological") stable homotopy category $SH$(I call them spectra) whose homology (with integral coefficients; should I call it singular or stable, or $H\mathbb{...
Mikhail Bondarko's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
61 views

Endomorphism in the rational stable $O(2)$-equivariant category of the universal space of the family of finite dihedral subgroups

Let $G$ be a compact Lie group. We can define $\mathfrak{F}G$ to be the collection of conjugacy classes of closed subgroups of $G$ whose Weyl group is finite, a bi-invariant metric on $G$ induces a ...
N.B.'s user avatar
  • 757
4 votes
0 answers
192 views

Direct image and infinite suspension

I have a basic doubt regarding infinite suspension functor and the direct image. I write it for schemes but I guess it works the same for the topological setting so I welcome answers also from the ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
4 votes
0 answers
102 views

Unstable and stable looping and delooping

I have some basic questions on the relation of looping and delooping in the stable and unstable homotopy categories. I state them it in the motivic setting, but if somebody has an answer for an ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
4 votes
0 answers
368 views

matrix ring spectra

I am trying to understand matrix ring spectra. Apparently, I have two different definitions of those and I did not manage to show that they are equivalent - maybe they even are not in the general case....
Ulrich Pennig's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
490 views

Bousfield Classes

This question has a few parts: 1) Is the Bousfield class of $\langle E\rangle$ the class of $E$-acyclics, i.e. $\langle E\rangle=\left\{ X:E\wedge X=0\right\}$ or is it the class of spectra which are ...
Jonathan Beardsley's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
284 views

Is the "inverse" (i.e., the "cohomological") numeration for singular (i.e., $H\mathbb{Z}$-)homology of spectra "acceptable"? [closed]

I have recently realized that in one of my (published) papers I have used the "inverse" numeration for the $H\mathbb{Z}$-homology of the objects of the stable homotopy category (so, if we consider ...
Mikhail Bondarko's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
289 views

Basic questions on spectra

I have a basic question on Voevodsky's stable homotopy category of spectra $\mathbf{SH}(S)$, where $S$ is a finite dimensional noetherian scheme. Let $E$ be an $\Omega$-spectrum and $\varphi \colon ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
3 votes
1 answer
158 views

Basic question on the cobordism spectrum

I am reading a little about cobordism and I have a basic question, which makes sense both in the topological and motivic setting. Let $\mathrm{Gr}_{n,\infty}$ denote the infinite $n$-Grassmanian and ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
3 votes
1 answer
286 views

Infinite loop space of ring spectra: the cup product

I have a basic question on homotopy theory, and I would welcome answers or references both from the classic and the motivic context of homotopy theory. Let $\mathbb{E}=(E_n)_{n\in \mathbb{N}}$ be an ...
Tintin's user avatar
  • 2,741
3 votes
1 answer
277 views

Triangulated structure on $\mathbf{SH}(S)$: $\mathbb{P}^1$-suspension versus classical suspension

I am studying the construction of the motivic stable homotopy category of schemes $\mathbf{SH}(S)$ following Riou's paper Categorie homotopiquement stable d'un site suspendu avec intervalle (click to ...
Tintin's user avatar
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